Palahē (Crushed)
by RaeBeth13
Summary: As the team emerge with Steve after his final stand against Wo Fat, he is left to publically struggle with the earth shattering admission of who Wo Fat was. Answers have led to more questions, and Steve knows the only person who can answer them now is Doris.
1. Chapter 1

**Palahē (Crushed)**

 _ **Follow on from "Ina Paha" (Season 5, Episode 7) – Spoilers for those who haven't yet seen this episode.**_

Kono clutch her automatic weapon, braced to take on any resistance as Danny and Chin took the full weight of Steve's exhausted body. Lou continued to scope behind them, as the group navigated the rabbit warren of corridors lined with industrial equipment.

Those left in the building stepped aside peacefully, their expressions showing their own surprise as to what had been happening in the bowels of the building. They stood, stunned.

Kono broke through the external doors, the setting sun illuminated her face. The warm air was a stark contrast to the shivering temperatures Steve had been in for the past several of hours. She lowered her gun, holding back their exit as the guys filtered through. As they passed she studied Steve's state, her expression filled with concern. His reaction to his father inside had worried her. She had never seen him break down like that before. His childlike and vulnerable reaction as Danny reminded him that his father had been dead for 4 years, he held it back as much as he could but the reality was way too much for him to take. She wondered he'd ever been that way when his father had died? Or was this the only time he'd let his emotions take over?

Adam had been holding his glare on the door from the black SUV, his sense of relief was unequivocal as he saw Kono break free, followed by the others including Steve. He felt a sense of pride that he had played a part in helping them achieve this moment. Kono glanced at him, through the glass of the windscreen, and nodded gently with a soothing smile of gratitude. Though his heart still paced as he waited to learn the fate of Wo Fat.

Danny hadn't heard the distant chorus of sirens, another wave of HPD, on approach until they were screeching to a halt in front of them. His only focus was on Steve's breathing whilst whispering words of reassurance.

Duke hopped out of his cruiser and waved the Ambulance through urgently before heading over to the team.

"Duke, you got a couple of bodies in there. Wo Fat being one." Grover nodded. "Make sure you hog tie that bastard and place him in a secure transport to the morgue. The guys like a cockroach, always coming back when you think he's gone."

"Copy that, I'll get my guys to secure the building." Duke nodded.

The EMT's pulled out the gurney just as Danny and Chin made it to them with Steve, helping his depleted body down gently as the EMT's went about their immediate business of treating him.

Grover put his hand on Danny's shoulder in comfort, but right now he was too shaken about how close they'd come to losing Steve that nothing could quell his distress.

"You ride with him, we'll square everything up here and come in when we are done." Chin whispered to Danny. "Just keep us up to date."

Danny nodded. The EMT's pushed the gurney back in the Ambulance, Danny followed. One of the officers hopped out and closed the doors as soon as Danny sat down. Within seconds it was speeding away.

Kono turned to Adam, she walked over, nestling her head against his shoulder prompting him to wrap his arms protectively around her. There was nothing he could say that could make this situation any better.

"Wo Fat… he's dead." She whispered.

Adam felt the warm rush of relief wash over him, closing his eyes and squeezing her tightly. Wo Fat was one of the last players in the fight to secure his own freedom. And that with Kono. More importantly to Adam, he had finally answered for the deaths of his father, for Steve's and for the countless others he'd killed in cold blood. A part of him was sorry it hadn't been at his hand, but in reality he knew that Wo Fat had gone on far too long, had far too many second lives, it didn't matter who shut him down just as long as he was finished. Unable to physically hurt anyone else again though the mental scars would live out a lifetime.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve sat upright on the gurney as the female EMT attended to the lacerations on his head and monitored his vitals. Danny sat in a seat toward the rear of the ambulance.

"The Marquee?" Steve asked with urgency.

Danny chocked a cough with disbelief and shook his head. "Your car is fine. HPD have it at their lock up."

Steve rested his head back, sighing as he finally started to relax. "I'm fine. I don't need all this." He said softly to the EMT.

"Standard protocol." The girl smiled. "You know what it's like when you got a job to do? Right?"

"Yeah, so shut up and let her do that job, would you?" Danny snapped.

She dabbed the blood away from the laceration on his forehead running into his hairline to get a better view of the injury. "You know what did this?"

Steve cleared his throat. "Bullet."

She raised her eyebrows. "I got to say, that's impressive. Either the other person was a bad shot or you have epic reflexes."

"Oh the other person wasn't a bad shot." Danny answered. "This guy is a ninja with a thousand lives."

Steve closed his eyes and shook his head with Danny's analysis.

"And you are surly at the end of those thousand lives. Just remember that." Danny pushed.

"Danny." Steve growled.

"I'm just saying. One day you're not going to be so fortunate." He continued.

Steve sighed.

"You want me to sedate him?" The EMT said quietly to Steve with a smirk.

"You can do that?" he asked.

"If it's in the best interests of your health I think I might be able to get away with it."

"I don't get why you even think this is an appropriate time for merry conversation, Steve." Danny pushed. "You just went up against Wo Fat. You do get how lucky you were, right?"

"So, does that mean you're retracting the ninja statement now?" Steve replied, happy to antagonise Danny if it kept him away from asking hard questions that he wasn't ready to discuss out loud.

"Really? You want to be a massive jerk right now?" Danny shrugged.

"You know what? Just give me the sedative. He'll still keep bitching at me but I'll be in a happy place." Steve said to the EMT.

She grinned as she pushed a cannula in his arm.

"What did he want, Steve? What happened?" Danny asked.

Steve hesitated, glancing at the young woman before looking back to his friend. His face hardened. "Danny, I'm really tired and I'm not ready to have this conversation right now. Okay?"

Danny paused, nodding eventually. He could see that Steve was exhausted, his eyes were heavy and his speech was slower than usual. But he also knew that he was deliberately holding back. His resistance could be because of two, or both, reasons. First, because there was a third party with them or second, because he was not interested in discussing the fine details with anyone. Ever.

"Just relax, enjoy the ride, okay?" The EMT said as he rested his head back again and closed his eyes.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Chin, Kono and Lou walked down the corridor to where Danny was sitting outside a room. It was several hours after the rescue had gone down.

"Danny…" Kono whispered as she approached.

"How's he going?" Chin asked.

Danny stood up and sighed, pushing his hands into his pockets. "He's ok. Better than ok, considering…" he shrugged.

Kono sighed with relief.

"Good news." Chin nodded.

"He's pushed for the doctors to release him. They're just finishing the paperwork." Danny nodded.

Kono nodded. "HPD checked the house, just in case there were any surprises there. All clear."

"Good. Thanks." Danny nodded.

"Has he said anything? About what went down?" Chin answered.

"Nope. And I got to be honest with you, Chin. I don't think he will."

Kono sighed. "Well that might not be possible."

"What do you mean?" Danny frowned.

"There's a whole legion of people who want to talk to Steve. FBI, CIA, HPD… they want to know what happened. The governor wants a full report."

"Fantastic." Danny muttered sarcastically.

"What I don't get is why now?" Lou shrugged. "These two guys have been playing cat and mouse for years, from what you've all told me there's been a whole catalogue of opportunities for either of them to sink a bullet into each other, but they didn't." He continued. "What changed to make it finally happen today?"

Chin glanced at Danny. "All Steve ever wanted was answers… I got the feeling that it was all that was keeping Wo Fat alive, and there had to be a reason Wo Fat wanted Steve alive."

"So you think Steve got his answers?" Danny asked.

"I think that it's safe to assume that they both got enough to pull the trigger on each other." Chin nodded.

"HPD found some video clips from Steve's childhood that were projected on a wall in a secured, sound proof and air tight room. They also found vents hooked up to a gas delivery system, which they believe was being used to keep Steve incapacitated." Kono added. "Tell you the truth, Danny… between that, the torture and the sedation they gave him… none of us have any idea how he was strong enough or coherent enough to take down Wo Fat the way he did."

"Yeah, well… that's Steve, right?" Danny sighed.

Chin nodded.

"Listen. Do me a favour. Don't mention the debrief to him right now. I'll talk to him about it in the morning." Danny asked softly.

"Of course." Kono nodded.

"You got it." Grover answered.

The door to the room opened and Steve cautiously exited, clutching his ribs with one hand and clutching a pile of papers in the other.

"Hey boss." Kono smiled softly. "It's good to see you."

"You're really getting out of here?" Chin asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Steve nodded encouragingly before he paused. "Listen, I just wanted to thank you for coming in for me." He said to the group.

"Adam was the key to finding you." Chin nodded. "He got the location intel."

Kono smiled gently, proud that Chin was recognizing Adam's contribution.

Steve looked to Kono. "Does Adam know? About Wo Fat?" he asked.

"Yeah, he was there when we got you."

"Tell him thank you, and that I'm sorry." Steve whispered.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Kono frowned.

Steve paused. "I know how much Adam wanted to finish this himself."

"You're right." She nodded. "Except it's us that should be thanking you. Left much longer Wo Fat and Adam's paths would have crossed, worst case scenario is that Adam would have wound up dead. Best case, he'd be looking at a murder charge." She paused. "Adam doesn't care how he was shut down, just as long as he was."

Steve nodded gently as he lowered his head.

"Okay, let's get you home." Lou nodded as he rested his hand on Steve's back.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

It was mid morning, Steve was sitting quietly on the couch glaring at a picture of his family. His eyes burning into his mother's face. He couldn't help but feel that her smile was fake. He'd questioned her integrity so many times since he'd found out she was alive, wanted so much to believe that marrying his father, having kids, it was not all part of a sick and twisted cover.

After Wo Fat's revelation he found it impossible to believe their family had been formed from a genuine place. Nothing explained her actions other than for her own selfish reasons. A cloak, only made by convenience to protect herself and yet shrewdly placing three innocent and unknowing lives into such danger. He was angry. Angry because clearly she had betrayed his father, led him to his death whilst he diligently tried to see justice for her murder. Not only that, he was killed by a man she had protected and continued to protect.

His stomach churned with the sickening thoughts. She'd had fooled them all. She was a good liar, an excellent manipulator and he could never ever trust or forgive her again.

He was snapped from his thoughts by the glass doors opening, Danny stepped through and closed them behind him. Steve gripped the photo in his hand. "Hey."

"Hey, how you feeling?"

"Better, after some sleep." Steve nodded.

Danny noticed the picture in his hand and stepped over to the coffee table, perching himself on it. "Thinking about your dad?"

Steve's eyes floated up to him before looking back down at the picture. No he was having murderous thoughts about his mother but he didn't think that was appropriate to say out loud, even to Danny. Still he needed to offer something. "I wish he was here." He whispered.

Danny nodded gently as he looked down.

"For a while there… yesterday… I really did believe he'd made it." He said softly. "That he'd lived, and that things were different." He sighed. "It was nice, but… it also made me realise that without his death, I would never have gotten the family I have now. He'd still be living here, I'd still be in the SEAL's, living a sad and lonely existence with a couple of thousand miles between us."

"Everything happens for a reason, isn't that what they say?" Danny shrugged.

Steve paused before nodding. "Yeah." He whispered. There was a respectful silence between them for a moment until Steve straightened. "What's going on?"

Danny exhaled nervously. "So listen, you need to be debriefed."

"Yeah, I wrote a statement last night. I was going to drop it into the precinct when I went to pick up the Marquee." Steve answered.

"No. Steve." He swallowed the lump in the back of his throat. "There's a whole list of people wanting to get a recorded statement. Extends far beyond HPD."

"A verbal statement?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's a big deal."

Steve's eyes drifted down. "What if I say no?"

"I'm fairly certain that some of these groups will make your life a misery. You don't need that." He shook his head. "I spoke to the governor this morning. He's happy for the CIA to run with the debrief, all other agencies submit their questions, and a recording handed out when you've finished. It means it will all be done in one, and you're not repeating answers over and over."

"What kind of things do they want to know?"

"Everything…" Danny whispered cautiously. "They want to know everything about yesterday."

Steve sighed, throwing the picture on the coffee table before resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward with his hands rubbing his eyes.

"The governor made a deal, he was concerned that the CIA would omit certain information, so he wanted to have someone included who was on his payroll. He said a cop, anyone from HPD. I told him that I didn't think you'd be comfortable with that. I thought you would need to trust the person… so I lined up Ellie to sit with you."

"Ellie?" Steve frowned. "Why Ellie?"

"Well she's the DA, she's a friend, and I know she will be sensitive with whatever you have to say."

"No." Steve shook his head, his eyes widened. "No way."

"Steve, I know you don't want to do this, but it's got to be someone."

"Right." Steve nodded. "And if it's going to be anyone, it's going to be you."

"Me?" Danny choked.

"You got some place better to be?" Steve growled.

"No." he answered with genuine shock. "No. I just assumed I'd be the last person you'd want listening to personal information. Given your track record of sharing."

"You are the only person I'd want in there." Steve answered.

Danny raised his eyebrows, still in a state of shock. "Okay…" he said cautiously. Surly there was some kind of catch. The only person? He knew he was the only person Steve did his hardest to remain mysterious with.

"What I have to say, it's nothing that I wouldn't have told you." Steve continued. "So I want you there."

"Okay." Danny nodded. "You got it."

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Danny flanked Steve as they made their way down the sterile corridors of the HPD building, towards a bunch of abandoned interview rooms to ensure their privacy was kept. Duke escorted them to the stereotypical agents, that stood guarding either side of the door. The men promptly held their hands out to stop the officer from advancing any further. Duke obliged, though begrudgingly. He disliked the agencies coming into their house and acting like they owned the joint.

Duke patted Steve on the back. "Pomaika'i" he whispered.

Steve turned his head slightly, but not enough to make eye contact with Lukela. "Thanks." He whispered back.

Duke nodded to Danny before heading back up the corridor.

One of the men leant toward the door and opened it, revealing an old and dishevelled room, with still some clear damage from the gas leak attack, yet sitting in the dust and occasional clumps of concrete was a shiny metal table and two chairs placed on either side. There was a voice recorder as well as a camera and tripod set up. To the right of the table there was a chunk of wall which was panelled by mirrored glass, it showed the age of the rooms, a viewing area used before the age of cameras. He wondered if anyone was behind there.

Steve could feel his heart pounding. He felt completely intimidated by the whole situation. This was just supposed to be a debrief. So why did it suddenly feel like he was on trial?

Danny, unknowingly, shared his concerns. What had he agreed to? What were they after? Steve glanced around to Danny before he sighed with apprehension. "It's the CIA. You know what they're like, they love all this cloak and dagger stuff." Danny answered with surprisingly natural reassurance in his tone.

"Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams." A woman, perhaps in her mid thirties, said as she made her grand entrance followed by a younger man. Both dressed in business attire and both swathed in a special kind of arrogance. "My name is Special Agent Louise Moore, this is Special Agent James Townsend." She said, throwing a file on the table before seating herself and resting back. "Take a seat."

Steve glared at her, his eyes burning with intimidation. Eager to let her know from the get go he wasn't interested in games.

She grinned faintly as she held her eyes on his, she just as eager to let him know that she was running this show. "Take a seat, Commander."

Steve inhaled a deep breath before reaching out for the chair and sitting down. Still his eyes locked onto hers.

Danny was good at reading Steve's body language. The reading he got right now, coupled with the tension in the air, was far from pleasant. His concentration now seemed totally taken by him wondering what he will do if Steve decides to launch over the table at this woman. Though the way things had started, the way she had set the scene, he kind of thought she'd deserve it.

She flipped open the file and looked at the first page. "So. You finally got him." She started as she looked up. "Feel good?" she asked, her voice dripping with disdain.

"Hey!" Danny snapped loudly with protest. "Back off. What the hell is this?"

"Detective Williams, you're in here for observation only. I'll have no hesitation in throwing you out if you interfere."

"You make it sound like I went out to kill him." Steve answered.

"Perhaps not. But he's dead, and you're here."

Steve stifled a bitter laugh. "He came for me. He took me against my will, held me captive and tortured me. It was kill or be killed."

Moore nodded her head, though she was no way near moved by his words. "You didn't stop to think that Wo Fat may have been a valuable asset? I mean, you think about it, ask yourself why he's been kept in play for this long. How he's been able to escape from top security prisons and travel freely around the world. Perhaps, knowing that, non-lethal force may have been the way to go?"

Danny choked with disgust as he slumped back into the chair.

"I know he was on your books. That he was, for whatever plausible reason, a CIA asset." Steve said before he paused. "Obviously he was of some use to you, but for those outside the loop… victims of his crimes… he was nothing but evil." He growled softly. "I had tried to subdue him with non-lethal force, but he had the upper hand since he hadn't been subjected to waterboarding, injected with drugs and cattle prodded for a number of hours before." He glared at the woman. "He had a gun to my head, he wanted information that I couldn't give him. I had no choice."

She sighed as she looked to her counterpart and nodded her head.

Townsend pressed a button on the machine, bringing it and the camera to life.

"The time is 10.36. November 8, 2014. Interview with Commander Steven McGarrett. Interview conducted by Special Agent's Moore and Townsend. Also present, as the Governor of Hawaii's representative, is Detective Daniel Williams." She announced. "Before we get to yesterday's events, let's start with a brief rundown of your relationship with Wo Fat before yesterday. Including what you knew about the man."

Steve gritted his teeth, he knew she had everything she needed in that file on the table. He paused, he needed to get his nerves back in order. Right now they were jumping around and this woman was getting under his skin. He didn't want to show that kind of weakness, nor did he want to lose it. "I first met Wo Fat after connecting Hiro and Koji Noshimuri in what I believed was my mother's murder. I later found out that Wo Fat was the one who was behind my father's murder." He started. "We learned that he was a former agent of the Chinese Ministry of State Security who had turned to become a powerful leader in organised crime with terrorist ties and connections to the Yakuza. My team has had several confrontations with him, apprehended him on a couple of occasions, only to have him repeatedly do the impossible and escape when turned over."

Moore nodded. "So it would be fair in assuming that you would want Wo Fat to pay for the crimes he'd committed? Including sanctioning your father's death?"

"Of course I wanted him to pay. And I wanted that animal locked up where he couldn't hurt anyone else. But powers that be…" he paused as he thinned his lips bitterly. "Saw fit to do it otherwise."

"So you killed him?" She answered, her inflection so cold that it was clear she was unable to look at this with any shades of grey. It was black and white to her.

"If you actually take the time to read that file, you'd see that there were a number of occasions where I brought him in peacefully. I even saved his life from the Yakuza and the MLA. If I had wanted to make him pay for his life, I would have done it long before now." He paused. "He is dead because it was the only thing I could do in order to defend myself. Nothing more, nothing less."

"And you're certain there is nothing more to it than that?" she pushed.

"Nothing." Steve growled as he glared at her.

She grinned. "In the interest of giving you every opportunity in this debrief, I'm going to let you think about that answer and come back to you with it again in a little while."

Steve's eyes drifted down, what the hell did she know?

"So let's start with what happened yesterday. Right from the beginning." Moore nodded.

Steve paused as he thought back, so much of it was hazy and his recollections were riddled with hallucinations, of which he had trouble distinguishing between reality. "My team and I were scheduled to run an operation yesterday morning. I woke up earlier than I usually do, decided that I would go for a drive in my dad's old car before heading into work." He paused. "I was waiting to turn, when a black van screamed up, blocking my way. A couple of guys got out, I reached for my gun, they let a round off which skimmed my arm. They pulled me out, held a rag to my face and that was all I remember about the kidnapping."

Danny winced, a mixture of anger and disgust.

Steve swallowed as his eyes drifted down again, the memory's played in his mind like an old video. "I woke up in a brightly lit, white, panelled room. There didn't seem to be any visible exit." He exhaled a shaken breath. "I called out, smashed my hand against the walls… and then the light dimed and a video, of my family, was projected on one of the walls." He paused. "My mom filming. I was running up the beach from the water, out back of our house. My dad with my sister on his lap." He whispered. "And then it cut out, the lights came back on and there was a gas being pumped into the room. It was choking. I tried to cover my mouth with a shirt, filter the gas as much as I could, but it was too strong. Before I passed out, I remember a figure walking toward me. Wearing like a Hazardous Chemical suit and a mask. Then that was it."

Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"When I came around, I was tied up in a store room. My arms and legs strapped to a chair. A woman entered."

"The woman you killed?" Moore replied.

Steve looked to her, this time his eyes were not so fierce. He was subdued, no longer filled with the energy he had to fight Moore or her motives. It was clear she was gunning for him. Why? He didn't know, but he knew it was a battle he would lose. "She was administering some kind of drug through an IV. One that made me hallucinate. I asked her what she was doing. What she was giving me. She didn't answer."

"Hallucinate?" Moore questioned.

Steve's eyes glistened with tears, he struggled to find the words. "About my father." He paused. "What might have been if he'd lived."

Moore raised her eyebrows and nodded slightly. "Pretty emotionally charged stuff, I would imagine?" she responded. "Understandable that it would make you even angrier about the reality."

Steve ignored her taunts. "The next thing I knew, Wo Fat was in the room. He wanted to know where his father was being held." He said, gritting his teeth with anger, a glimmer of fight left in him. "He seemed to think that with my investigation into the field in Cambodia, working out that the body that was buried there was his mothers, that I would have gotten as far as locating his father." He frowned and shook his head. "When I couldn't give him the answer, they continued to water board me in the hopes I would break."

"You're a highly experienced member of the SEAL's, Steve. You've been exposed to torture techniques both in training and in a captive environment before. This wasn't even the first time you claim Wo Fat had you incapacitated and tortured you." She shook her head.

"What's your point?" Steve growled.

"Well, part of your reasoning on why you were left with little choice but to kill Wo Fat was due to the toll taken on you by the alleged torture. Something that would be acceptable to normal folk, but to you… it's just another day in the office, right?"

"I'm sorry." Danny butted in, he couldn't stay quiet any longer, even if it did risk his continuing involvement. "This is supposed to be a debrief, right?"

"Correct." Moore nodded.

"So why does it feel more like an interrogation?" Danny pushed.

"My job is to get all the answers for both records and any investigations that are likely to be launched. Like it or not, two people were killed by Commander McGarrett yesterday. Yet he claims he was drugged, tortured and restrained. There are additional factors at play which make me believe that Commander McGarrett is not being as transparent as he should be." She said as she stared at Steve.

"You tell me what you want to know, and I'll tell you what I know." Steve growled. "You have no interest in listening to my account of events, you've made your mind up. You want to know something. Just say it."

Moore grinned, her expression filled with amusement that she'd clearly hit a nerve. "Okay, Commander. In your written statement, which you submitted to HPD this morning, you claim that killing Wo Fat was only in self-defence. That he was going to realise you didn't know anything about the status of his father. You figured that the only reason he hadn't killed you was because he believed you were the key to finding out his father's fate, and once he knew that wasn't the case, you believed he would kill you."

"That's right." He nodded.

"There was no other conversation had between the two of you?" she asked. "No revelation of any kind that would leave you reeling?"

Danny's eyes shifted to Steve.

Steve closed his eyes as he lowered his head. She obviously knew what she was talking about. He hesitated for a moment before raising his head back up. "For a while I've known that there was some kind of connection between Wo Fat and my mother." He paused. "I didn't know what exactly, but there were a couple of scenarios I questioned. One being that he was my biological half-brother."

"Go on…" Moore replied.

"A DNA test proved that was not the case. But whilst I was held by him, he explained to me that after she'd killed his mother in a botched operation, she disappeared off the grid and took him into her care." He inhaled a deep breath. "That for some years she raised him as her own, but when the CIA caught up with her, they forced her to leave."

Danny parted his mouth with the news.

"So, here this man, this monster… responsible for a wave of terror. A monster, you believed was responsible for the death of your father, is telling you that the woman, who abandoned you and your sister in your teens, was the one who started him out in life?" she nodded as she leant forward against the table. "That must have cut you up."

"What do you think?"

"Trust me. I have many thoughts on this subject." Moore volleyed.

"Here's what I think." Steve growled. "You obviously know what happened in that room. What was said, what was done. I'm guessing you found CCTV. Which means you know everything I've said about the torture is true."

Moore straightened.

"For some reason you wanted me to repeat everything you already have. Now what I want to know, is what exactly is this all in aid of? Because it isn't just a simple debrief, and it's not to do with any investigations. You want me to admit to something." He snarled. "If you think I know where my mother is, I don't. If you think that I know where Wo Fat's father is, I don't. If you believe that I have stepped over the line in my actions against Wo Fat, because I was emotionally driven and not out of self-defence, charge me. All I've ever wanted is answers, but all I constantly do is get deeper into a web of conspiracy and mystery." He paused. "I've got nothing more to say, nothing more to tell." He said, standing up and turning to the door. Danny stumbled to his feet and followed.

"Turn the tapes off." Moore said to her partner.

Townsend obliged.

"What if I told you that Wo Fat was an ally?" she announced desperately.

Steve froze, his heart started to pace, he wanted to turn around and launch at her. How could she possibly insinuate that a man like that, given all he had done, was an ally?

"That he was recruited by the company twenty years ago? And has been on our books ever since?"

Steve was bitterly disgusted. "If that's the truth, then my faith in this country and the values I believed I was fighting for, that so many people fight for on a daily basis to protect, none of it means anything."

Moore nodded. "I'm sad you feel that way." She smirked. "There will be an investigation into Wo Fat's death. You will be held accountable for any actions the board find were unwarranted." She pushed before smiling. "Of course, for now, you are free to go."

"Come on…" Danny whispered as he pushed Steve toward the door. "Let's get out of here."

As they exited Moore dropped her shoulders, shedding her tough bravado. She looked towards the glass. "Enough. You need to stop this now." She nodded.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve stepped out of the doors to HPD, in a daze, heading over to a small wall and perching himself down on it.

"You alright?" Danny asked with concern, fearing he was having some kind of delayed reaction to his injuries or the drugs.

"I've spent most of my life serving my country… I've had friends sacrifice everything to make it a better place. We openly fight the fight, fighting the enemy who cause us harm." He paused. "To find out that while we are doing that, there is a sanctioned group, working underground, making deals with that very enemy and protecting them." He frowned. "Tell me what the point is?"

Danny chose to just listen, nothing he could say would help Steve get his head around this fact because even he was having trouble with it. He shrugged.

"So the one thing I had left, the one thing I thought I could always count on and be proud about, has been a gigantic lie."

"Steve, you and I both know that the company deals with the shady stuff." He whispered. "But what if Moore is telling the truth? What if Wo Fat was really an ally?"

"Danny, he murdered innocent people. He murdered my father. If that's the case then the only alternative was that my father was dirty and nothing I have suggests that."

"I agree. You're dad wasn't dirty." He answered. "But what if Wo Fat didn't make the order to have your father killed? What if he was just the scape goat?"

"Why, Danny?" Steve growled with confusion.

"I don't know…" he shook his head and shrugged defensively. "I'm just saying that it's an angle that none of us have ever looked at it from."

"I need a beer." Steve replied.

"Okay, good. Drinking is good." Danny nodded with encouragement. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Home… I have beer there. Let's go."

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Danny cracked the lids to two bottles of beer and walked out to the living room where Steve was digging through piles of paper and the contents of the Champ box. "Steve, you've been through all of this a thousand times. What are you going to find now?"

"You said it yourself, I'd never looked at it from the angle that Wo Fat was set up."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "What? You're willing to consider that as a possibility?"

Steve sighed as he paused for a moment. "I mean, I have trouble accepting it, but none of this has ever made sense so why not look at the possibility?"

"Okay, well what do you want me to do?" he said looking around at the carnage on the floor.

There was a knock at the door.

"First, I want you to get that. It'll be the Pizza. And then I want you to look into the time when Wo Fat left the Chinese military."

Danny nodded. "Okay."

Steve scanned a document before flinging it down and picking up another one. Completely distracted by his investigation.

A figure walked up behind him. "Steve…"

He froze, his eyes darting from side to side and his heart pounding out of his chest.

"Just so you know, she pushed her way in here. I wouldn't have let her in otherwise." Danny added.

Steve stood up and turned around, his mother stood before him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he growled.

She paused as she looked into his eyes. "I'm here to do what I should have done a long time ago. To finish this."


	3. Chapter 3

Doris lowered herself into the couch slowly as she held her stare on Steve. He maintained his stance, defensive with his arms folded over his chest, his eyes filled with fire and yet his features showed how utterly drained he was from everything that had gone on. His will to fight was slipping away, his want for answers had left him a long time ago and his trust for anyone and anything, aside from his chosen ohana, was non-existent.

The tension in the air was so thick that Danny felt it was almost pushing him out of the door. He had no read on Steve, he had no idea what should be his next move. In a fit of desperation he grabbed his jacket that was draped on the stairs and clutched it in his hands tightly. "I should go…" he whispered.

"Good idea." Doris answered.

"Danny's staying right here." Steve growled.

Danny nodded once, that was enough to put him back on the same page as his partner. "You got it." He answered without hesitation, throwing his jacket on the couch and sitting down.

"You really don't have to stay, Danny. This is private. Between my son and I."

Steve coughed with bitter amusement. "Are you serious right now?" he snarled. "Private? This is anything but private. And you have no right to come into my home, after all you've done, and think you get to make the rules. You don't."

Danny folded his arms over his chest and walked around to the couch, sitting down. "I think he's made his point. Carry on." He answered smugly.

"What do you want?" Steve growled.

She sighed as she perched herself down on the couch, her demeanour seemed to be that of a timid and nervous school girl but she was anything but. "I know that I should have explained my relationship with Wo Fat sooner. Perhaps if I had of done, he would still be alive."

Steve gritted his teeth, angry that she could even show a glimmer of sorrow for the man who murdered his father. Was she so detached from her family that this monster meant more? Did she ever care for her family? Or were they just a neat little cover for her life as an agent?

Danny raised his eyebrows, motionless as his eyes flickered between Steve and Doris, unsure if Steve was just going to metaphorically strangle her now or let her dig her own grave first.

"Get out." Steve whispered, though the inflection was effective enough to clearly show his anger and disgust. "Get out of this house." He pushed.

"Steve…" she protested.

"You want to mourn someone like that then it's up to you, but you are not going to do it in the very house where he killed my father. Get out!"

"Steve; what I'm trying to say is nothing is as it seems…" She pleaded for him to listen. "Wo Fat didn't order the hit on your father. That's what I am here for, to explain to you exactly what I know."

Steve frowned. Allowing a few moments to process her revelation before he shook his head. The evidence against Wo Fat had always been too strong to believe otherwise, and now he was being asked to listen to a story that went against everything he knew by a woman who had done nothing but lie and dodge the truth, quite possibly, for his entire life.

"I know." She nodded. "I know it would be a huge ask for you to listen to, let alone accept it as the truth. But I'm here, and I would like the opportunity to talk through it, even if I know I don't deserve the chance." She paused. "All I'm asking for is a small amount of your time, and if you don't believe in what I have to say, then we move on. I'll go and you won't ever have to see me again."

He glanced at Danny for some kind of opinion, but when Danny lowered his head he knew he wasn't going to offer one. This had to be Steve's choice. He sighed as he walked around the couch and sat down. "You got 15 minutes."

Doris exhaled with relief. "Thank you." She paused as she thought long and hard about where in this tangled web of secrets she should start. "I was behind the glass, at the briefing this morning."

Steve thinned his lips bitterly. "I figured as much."

"They suggested that Wo Fat was an ally. I could see how you felt about that, but it's true. For the most part he was." She started. "It's also true that I was sent in to Cambodia to take down his father, I wasn't aware that it was an unauthorised op. I was just handed intel which indicated he was a threat."

"A threat to who?" Steve growled.

"At the time I had no reason to believe anything else but him being a threat to the US. For decades I believed that, until a couple of years ago I learnt that he refused a deal to be an undercover for the company, specifically for an agent named Edward Cobb who wanted in on the black market and organised crime rings within Asia."

"Edward Cobb?" Steve said, recalling the man who he'd shot after being trapped in the rubble of a building with Danny. "Yeah; we met."

"Cobb wanted the father dead because he knew too much about their plans and he'd threatened to expose them."

"But you killed the wrong person, he went into hiding and Wo Fat was left alone?" Steve glared at her.

"Tan Xi… I had named him Tan Xi back then." Her eyes glistened with tears. "And what was I supposed to do? This was before I met your father. I had nothing but my job and that had led me to carry out an unspeakable act." She paused, the pain evident in her eyes as she recalled. "I knew what the authorities did with unwanted children. I was responsible for him being left alone. I saw no other option but to all that I could."

Steve's eyes drifted down.

"The company came looking for me, we were always one town ahead of them, moving around the far east… until one day they caught up to us. We had settled in a small town, seventy miles out of Beijing. They threatened to kill the boy if I didn't go with them." She inhaled a deep breath. "So I left him with a teacher from his school, told her I would be back in a couple of weeks…"

Steve's eyes locked onto hers. It was almost comforting that her lies weren't just reserved for his side of the family. "But you didn't."

"They told me that he'd been placed in a care facility which they had contacts in. That if I tried to run again they would give the orders to have him killed, along with launching an investigation which would result in blaming me solely for his mother's murder." She looked down at her hands and shook her head. "Soon after I got back, I met your father. I didn't want to get involved with anyone. I had no plans to. Not with the nature of my job." She swallowed the lump that had formed in the back of her throat. "I wanted out, but they said the least they could allow was an intelligence job. I was too valuable as an asset to let go." She said bitterly.

Steve still couldn't get used to his mother talking in such a way, that she knew more about his world than he probably did.

"Two years later, we got married… then we had you and Mary. I stayed with my desk job, under the cover of being a teacher until…" her voice tapered off.

Steve's eyes cut through her. Finally, was he actually going to hear the truth about his mother's staged death?

"A month before I disappeared, I was approached by senior members of the company. People I trusted. They told me that there was a crime syndicate running within the Asia Pacific region and that there were ex and current government insiders involved. Several based out of Oahu, including Edward Cobb." She continued. "They told me that they had recruited a Chinese national who was willing to relinquish his high ranking military position in order to go undercover, but he would only do it if I was his handler."

"Wo Fat?" Steve whispered.

She nodded. "For it to work, they had to stage my death. Cobb knew I was one of the only people who was a threat to him, who knew the whole story. If he thought I was no longer a risk to him then he would become complacent. In turn it was to protect you and Mary."

Steve gritted his teeth, he hated the thought of that even being the case. It seemed like an excuse, and one he'd heard all too many times.

"I thought it would only be a couple of months, a year at the most. Then I could come back to you guys and hope you'd understand. But the operation just kept getting deeper and deeper, the more we scratched away the more questions we had. I was committed to the op, and I was deeply regretting it."

"You know what I still can't get over? That dad died, not only whilst he was investigating your death, but not knowing you were still alive."

She looked at him blankly, she said nothing.

He glared at her. "Did he know you were alive?"

Doris thinned her lips as if to show him she didn't want to say. That in itself gave him his answer.

Steve frowned, how could his father keep that from him? "How long did he know?"

"About 18 months before his death… when I brought Wo Fat to him; and explained that Governor Jamison was a heavy player in the crime syndicate."

His eyes drifted away as he recalled the video of his father and Wo Fat in a meeting with the Governor. "That's why he was with Wo Fat… he was working with him?"

"Wo Fat had already established ties with Jamison… he was selling your father as a crooked cop who wanted in on the action. That he had the power to make issues, against groups like the Yakuza, disappear; no questions asked. They were building a case against her." She glared at him. "It was Jamison who gave the order to kill your father. He knew that Hesse was one of Wo Fat's contacts… she thought they would pin it on him if the investigation ever got any steam."

Steve felt a crushing wave of disgust wash over him. Not only had he gladly served this woman in the aftermath of his father's death, but he had been torn apart the day he'd realised that Jamison was dappling in matters that a Governor should not be involved in. She'd looked him in the eye and offered her condolences, supplied him with all the tools to bring the killers to justice, when all the time it was her.

Danny's eyes widened. "She manipulated us… she wanted to control the investigation; the only way she could do that was to have us under her watch."

"For the most part, Wo Fat's crimes have been either set up by the company in order to retain his position as a crime figure or he's been framed by people like Jamison and Cobb." Doris continued.

Steve paused as he gave it some thought. "When did that change? When did he turn?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Doris held her glare on him as he asked one of the toughest questions she had to answer. "He turned when he found out that I was the one who killed his mother." She said softly. "A few days before you came to me asking for help with Kono and Adam."

"He didn't know?" Steve hissed. "All that time?"

"Yeah, that would probably be cause to piss him off." Danny whispered dryly.

"He was too young to understand when I was bringing him up. He knew some things; what I did for a job, but there were only a handful of people who knew what I'd done to his mother. I didn't think it would ever get out."

"So you took that chance?"

"When I found out that he wanted me as his contact within the company, the operation would have been dropped if I'd refused… he wouldn't have gone through with it. And the same would have happened if he knew the full story. So I had to stay quiet and hope that it would never be discussed."

"But it was." Steve answered.

She nodded. "Leaked; and Cobb had to have had something to do with it." She sighed. "Wo Fat knew that Shelburne was the one that killed his mother, that's why he'd been looking. Then he found out it was me and…"

"He felt betrayed; lied too. I know how he felt." Steve growled bitterly.

"That's why I left with Kono and Adam. I had to disappear. When I found out he was in prison I thought it would be the best time to tell him what happened in my own words. Explain the circumstances. That's why I visited him."

Steve smirked with disgust. "You didn't just visit him, mom. You aided and abetted a violent and dangerous criminal to break out of prison."

"That's not true, Steve." She whispered.

"The evidence says otherwise."

Doris closed her eyes and sighed.

Steve's shoulders relaxed, possibly because he'd finally appeared to have her in a submissive state. Perhaps she now understood that he could not be blindsided by her twists any more. "When was the last time you spoke to him?"

She glared at him, pausing with the thought of how he would react when he found out the next part of the story. "He left my house, two days ago… and I didn't speak to him again."

Steve frowned. He was a wanted criminal, it was a miracle he'd gotten on the Island in the first place, after breaking out from Super Max, he found it hard to believe that Wo Fat would have left the island to visit her in another city. It dawned on him, hitting him like a tonne of bricks. "You were here? On the island? All this time?"

She hesitated for a moment before drawing back a deep breath. "I've been on the island for months." She whispered. "I came back just after I'd heard you'd killed Cobb, he was one of the major threats to my safety on the island… and I have been here ever since."

He could feel his chest tighten so much that he struggled to breathe. Just when he thought the situation couldn't possibly get any more screwed up, she proved him wrong.

"Wait." Danny coughed with disgust. "You mean you came back here when you heard Cobb had been taken out? You came back because you knew it was safe for you?" he growled as he glanced at Steve and then back to Doris again. "Cobb dropped a commercial building on us… it was a miracle we got out alive. He did that because Steve was getting too deep into your history, asking questions about your conduct that he didn't want attention on. Cobb tried to shut us down. Now you're saying that you came back because it was safe for you? What about the safety of your son? Where were you for that?"

Steve's eyes drifted down, still unable to inflate his lungs with sufficient air. To add to his problems, his stomach churned in response to her sickening admission.

"Let me make this clear." She started as she glared at Danny. "I had no idea as to what Cobb was planning. I didn't even know that Steve had been investigating any of this." She answered. "If I had of done, I would have come forward, I would have stopped him."

"You knew that I wanted answers. You knew that I wasn't going to stop until I got them." Steve whispered bitterly. "You had a chance to tell me all of this before I placed my team and myself into the kind of danger we've been in."

"I regret that day so much." She answered. "Sitting in your office, knowing that I had the chance to set things straight. Perhaps then, maybe things would have turned out better for everyone."

Steve's eyes cut through her. "When you say 'better for everyone', you mean he would still be alive."

She exhaled heavily as she looked down. "I know you couldn't possibly understand, Steve. But he meant something to me, whether you like it or not. I can't change that." She paused. "So yes, I am mourning his death. Just as anyone would in my position."

Steve grinned with disgust. "Did you mourn dad's death? Did you feel guilty that you put him in harm's way?"

"That's not fair, Steve. He knew what he was getting into." She snapped.

"Have you ever once felt any genuine sorrow for what you and your job did to Mary and I? Did to our childhood? How it split us all up and left us on our own?" he growled without a second thought to her reply. "Then you showed up, and you dragged Dad into it. And we ended up losing the one person we could count on being there." He continued with burning anger. "You come back into peoples lives. Dad's, mine, Mary's; even Wo Fat's. You do nothing but destroy people with your lies and your games. You don't seem to care who it affects or how much you push people down, just as long as your own agenda is protected and carried out." He paused.

Doris' face flickered with emotion, her eyes brimming with tears, but even that didn't ignite a single fragment of sorrow or pity in Steve.

He shook his head. "Before Dad sent us away, I used to pray to god for him to give me my mom back. To have you sitting on the chairs, out back, with Dad watching Mary and me surf. Hear your voice again, back to a time where I felt safe because nothing bad was ever going to happen. You used to tell me that, those nights you'd come into my room when I was having a nightmare. Do you remember that mom?"

She looked at him, the tears tracked down her cheeks.

"Thing is, you did come; 15 years too late, and the person you are today isn't that woman who brought us up." He paused before exhaling. "As far as I'm concerned, my mom died in that car; and she's never coming back. You. You're nothing to me. Nothing at all."

"I want to make this right. I want to be a mother to you and Mary again." Doris nodded.

"You don't think you've had more than your share of chances?" Steve frowned with shock that she could be so brazen to say such a thing. "You can't make this right. Not ever."

"I have no ties left that can put us in danger. I'm out, and I'm free."

"You've been choosing Wo Fat over your kids for years. You just know that now he has gone you've got nothing left except time for the ones you've neglected all this time." He shook his head. "It's not going to happen mom. We're not interested."

"You think I chose him over you? You are so wrong." She protested.

"Okay." Danny nodded. "So why haven't you seen or spoken to Steve since you've been back on the island?"

Steve fixed his eyes on her, reluctant to hear the answer.

Doris shuffled uncomfortably. "I couldn't."

"You couldn't? Why?" Danny pushed.

She looked at her son, her heart pacing a million miles an hour. She hesitated, her face etched with regret. "Because I would have risked Wo Fat's freedom." She nodded. "And I felt that I owed him protection."

Steve closed his eyes, squeezing them tight as he wished he could have deflected the response and not heard it at all. There it was, this was how she felt, she owed and cared more for this monster than she did for her own children.

"There was a chance that he was coming back into play. I had to preserve his cover until such time." She continued, desperately sounding like some kind of damage control.

"Did you know that he was coming for Steve?" Danny asked.

"Of course not." She snapped. "I would have stopped him."

"Because you would be protecting Steve, or protecting Wo Fat?" he continued.

"Steve, he's twisting. It's not like that. You know that I love you and; no, I may not have been mother of the year but I did what I did for genuine reasons. It has never been a competition between him and you and Mary."

"Get out." Steve whispered.

"Steve… I promise you…" she pleaded.

"Get. Out." He snarled quietly as his eyes burned through hers.

She paused for a moment, she knew this conversation was over for now. Perhaps it was over forever. Her lips trembled and her eyes filled with tears. "Steve…" she whispered.

"Danny." Steve said sternly.

"Okay…." Danny chimed as he stood up. "Time to go." He said, grabbing her arm gently.

"Don't touch me." She growled.

"You have a choice. Leave now or I arrest you for outstaying your welcome. Then we add all the other felonies you have stacking up against you, I don't need to explain to you how life will become very unpleasant if that happens." Danny nodded.

Doris stood up reluctantly. Hovering for a moment as she looked at Steve. He refused to offer her any kind of eye contact, afraid that if he looked at her he didn't know what he would do anymore. She willed him silently to offer her some peace, just something, but it never came.

She turned and headed for the door, picking up her purse before stepping out. Danny followed close behind, he was determined to make sure she had left before he'd stand down. She turned to him. "Just so you know; I'm going to get things back to how they were between my son and I." She nodded with determination. "And I don't care what or who stands in my way. I'll take them out."

"I'm sorry? Is that a threat? Are you threatening me?" Danny shrugged with amusement.

"I'm just offering you some friendly advice." She replied, her tone dripping with intimidation.

Danny straightened. "You know, I never met John; but I've heard so much about him. About how loyal he was, how he would lay down his own life and freedom for others. How he cared for people." He paused. "I hear the stories and it's like they are talking about Steve." He grinned. "He's a credit to John. He turned out better than anyone could ever expect given what he went through." He pushed. "And Mary, yeah, she made some massive mistakes in the time I've known her, but she stepped up and she was determined to be a mother, a good mother, and she's doing it with no experience or role model to go by."

Doris tightened her lips.

"The point is that the people they are today had nothing to do with you and I personally think that the best thing you ever did was disappear. If you hadn't, perhaps they wouldn't have grown into people who are honest, fiercely devoted to their friends; people who will stand up and tackle anything thrown at them and who won't walk away." He shrugged. "So you see, the only person standing in your way in getting things back to how they were, is Steve. He's done with you."

She glared at Danny with bitterness.

"So I would strongly suggest that you get in your car, you drive away and you disappear for good. I may not have known Steve for a lifetime, but I definitely know him better than you. And I know him enough to say that what just happened between you and him; that was final."

"And what if I didn't take your advice?" She whispered.

"Then you can guarantee that you and me, we're going to cross paths again on this island and when we do; I will have no hesitation in seeing how well those charges, we talked about, stand up against you."

She held her glare on him for what seemed like an eternity before breaking her eye contact and walking toward the car. Danny stood frozen as he watched her hop into the vehicle and pull away. He exhaled a breath, so deep that it was as if he'd been holding it throughout the entire confrontation. He turned and pushed his way back into the house.

"Steve?" he called out when he couldn't see him in either the living room, kitchen or office. Finally he noticed his best friend sitting in one of the white wooden chairs in the garden, overlooking the gentle swell. He grabbed two beers from the refrigerator, and stepped out into the yard, over to the vacant white chair. He slumped down and passed Steve one of the bottles. Steve looked at him and smiled thinly as he reached out and took the beer.

Danny sighed as he leant back into the chair and looked out over the clear blue water. "I got a feeling she will be back."

Steve's eyes drifted down as he gave some thoughts to his feelings. He was somewhat relieved that it all seemed so clear in his mind, for the first time in he didn't know how long. "Not in my life she won't. Not now."

"I said something similar to her." Danny said as he sipped his beer.

"You don't think she bought it?"

"I think she's a McGarrett, and your family motto seems to be 'if at first you don't succeed then just keep doing it until you piss someone off enough to shoot you'."

Steve smiled weakly and nodded his head.

"I'm proud of the way you handled it Steve." Danny nodded. "It can't have been easy."

If he was honest with himself it was like every other time she'd been in his life. Like his emotions had been shaken so many times with her it almost felt normal. But, for now, he felt a sense of relief, of calm, it felt like it was over to some degree. Steve raised his bottle to Danny as they tapped them together. "To real ohana."

"To real ohana." Danny smiled.

NOTE: Thanks so much to everyone for reading and following, a big thanks to all those who have sent me such kind reviews. I really do appreciate it. Hope to start a new one in the next few days, but for now I hope you enjoyed the ending to this one.


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